Falling for his Step-Sister by Alie Garnett

Chapter Nineteen

Friday morning came earlyfor Jonas with a call from half-way around the world. Harrison called him from his honeymoon to tell him that Raiden & Son’s Financial had been raided at 2 a.m. and to not to go into the office. The closer the raid got, the more on edge he was about it, so he had been avoiding work more and more.

By 6 a.m., he watched Buzz’s Jeep park in her usual place and jumped to help her bring in the breakfast that he was almost one-hundred-percent sure she didn’t make. In fact, he was sure her vehicle was riddled with receipts for the breakfasts she hadn’t been making all week. How she was getting supper, he had no idea, and so far, she hadn’t dazzled Judith with her chicken salad, so she didn’t have to change out that menu item.

“Jonas, you’re up early,” she said as she opened the back door and grabbed out the six containers of food.

“Just waiting for my favorite chef to show up.” He took the containers from her, wishing he could instead pin her to her car and make her whimper. He loved when she whimpered.

“I hope she shows up soon.” Buzz only half-joked as she followed him into the house.

They made quick work of setting out the food. Then he was able to pin her to the wall of the kitchen and make her make noises he’d dreamed about hearing. The woman had gotten under his skin. He couldn’t think when she was around, but he couldn’t think when she was gone either. He barely knew her but trusted her completely.

After successfully getting her jacket off, she pushed him away before he could take off her shirt, leaving her breasts secure in the pink shirt that had a “D” on it, except it was sideways, making it just look like a smiling mouth.

“I have to work, Jonas. Besides, this is not happening today.” Her words were said with such conviction, just like every morning since after she got drunk with Louisa. He almost believed her.

“I don’t care. Take today off and spend the day in my room—alone and naked,” he whispered in her ear.

The shiver that ran through her body said she was very much into the idea, but her mind was still pushing him away. “No, no. I’m a professional.”

“But a professional what?” He had her trapped between his arms and pinned to the wall still.

“Jonas Arthur Raiden, get your hands off that woman!” Judith’s voice was nearly shrill as she said the words.

Springing back from Buzz, he turned and glared at the woman. Who was she to say whom he could and could not talk to? Or anything else for that matter.

“This does not concern you, Judith,” Jonas stated, his anger palpable.

“Really? She is my employee, and you are a guest in this house. Whatever this is must stop.”

“Jonas, she’s right,” Buzz said from behind him. “I’ll just get my stuff together and leave.”

Grabbing her arm, he stopped her. “She’s going nowhere, Judith.”

“I am her boss, Jonas, not you. Now she’s fired because I warned her more than once about this kind of activity. She knew better than to seduce you, but then again, you always have been very seducible. Besides, isn’t twenty-five a bit young for you?”

“How do you know how old I am?” Buzz demanded suddenly.

Judith stopped moving and opened her mouth only to close it again, then stated with a smug grin, “Your application.”

Buzz stopped talking for a moment and stared at Judith before calmly replying, “I lied on my application, which means you know who I am. After all these years, you still don’t care about me. I think I’ll just finish out the day, seeing as how I’m already here and would like a full week on my paycheck.”

“I think not.” She huffed.

“Then I’ll have to talk to George about some things. We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?” Buzz asked Judith, who was suddenly very pale.

Judith waved off the redhead before leaving the kitchen. “Do what you must, but you’re finished here. And Jonas, leave her alone. We don’t need her kind here.”

“My kind, as if you know anything about me. Anything at all!” Buzz yelled after her, suddenly angry. Her face was red with it.

“Buzz, stop. I am so sorry about her. I would be willing to give you a recommendation anytime or anywhere. You’re an amazing chef, and really, this job wasn’t all that great.” He tried to calm her, make her see that being fired was for the best.

“It’s not that; jobs are jobs,” she mumbled and pushed out of his arms. “I have to get water for your dad and Louisa.”

“I’ll hire you, Buzz—I’m serious. I have a house and hate to cook. You can …” he started.

“No, just leave it. I knew wouldn’t last. I guess I thought I would be the one to quit first, but I didn’t think she knew,” Buzz said, but she wasn’t exactly talking to him.

“Knew what?”

Buzz took a breath and said, “Nothing, just forget it. Us, you and me, that wasn’t going to last anyway. There’s just too much there for anything to be possible.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing, just go. You have to go to work or something, right?” She waved him off.

“No, not today. I’ve been waiting an entire month for today.” He took a step closer to her, not letting her push him away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked in surprise.

“Yes, actually, I do. I would love to tell someone about it, anyone,” he admitted. After only talking to Harrison and the feds, he would love to tell someone else, someone who didn’t care about the outcome and would just be on his side.

Instead of asking more, Buzz took a step away from him. “I … I can’t talk about it with you. Please, I’m sorry I even asked.”

Her face was pale as she said it; her entire body was stiff.

“Jonas, there’s a woman who wants to talk to you,” Louisa stated from the door, her eyes on both of them.

“I’ll be right there, Louisa.” Jonas waved her off before turning back to Buzz. “I want to talk to you. About us.”

Buzz’s nod was barely noticeable as she stared at him. He reluctantly left her in the kitchen as he headed out to the door to see who wanted to talk to him. He was expecting a federal agent or a lawyer from Harrison’s office since Harrison was still in Hawaii. Instead, it was a blonde woman in a tight skirt and black jacket.

“Jonas Raiden? I’m Meghan Murphy from the Times. I was hoping you would have time for an interview this morning,” the woman stated with a perfect smile.

“Get out of my house,” he replied angrily. Harrison had warned him that the reporters would find him quickly.

“Just a few questions; my readers want to hear your side of the story. Your uncle says he was framed.”

“Out of the house.” He pointed at the door, knowing he couldn’t physically remove her.

“My readers are interested in your side of all this. When did you start thinking your uncle had been stealing from the company? How long has it been happening?” her questions came quickly.

“No comment. Now get out,” he repeated.

The reporter’s smile faltered as she looked beyond him. Turning slightly, he saw Buzz and Louisa coming down the hallway from the kitchen, most likely drawn by the noise and commotion. The reporter’s frown flashed with anger. “What is she doing here? No wonder you won’t talk to me.”

“Excuse me?” he demanded, not knowing if she was talking about his sister or the chef.

Ignoring Jonas’s question, she looked at Buzz and said, “What are you doing here? Wait, are you undercover? You are, aren’t you?”

“I was fired; you know that,” Buzz stated and crossed her arms over her still open jacket. It was obvious that they knew each other.

“Fired my ass. You were planted in this house for the story. Have you gotten it?” Meghan demanded, then gave a shy smile at the chef.

“I’m not working on a story,” Buzz hissed at her.

“Bea Bradford always looks for the story, isn’t that right, Bea? Wow, undercover.” The woman seemed impressed.

“What’s going on?” Jonas demanded.

“I guess I’ll leave since he isn’t talking to me anyway. But he is talking to you, isn’t he?” Meghan stated and turned to leave finally.

“What is she talking about?” he demanded. His confusion was starting to clear up.

“She has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Are you a reporter?” he demanded, his anger palpable.

Buzz blinked once and then admitted, “I was, but not anymore. I can’t catch a break.”

“So, you decided to come here undercover? Can you even cook? You can’t, can you?” He knew she couldn’t. Not once had she even pretended to cook a meal in the kitchen. Everything was prepackaged, or she’d bought it on the way over, yet he had never questioned it—until now.

“Uhm, I-I can explain,” she stammered.

“Go ahead. Explain why you’re pretending to be a chef when you can’t even cook. It isn’t to get a story?” he demanded loudly.

Buzz looked at him, then at Louisa and back to him, “It wasn’t for a story.” Her voice was quiet as she said it.

“Not for a story? Then why? What reason did you have to pretend to be a chef?”

“It’s not about you. I didn’t even know you were here,” she reminded him. She had been just as surprised as he was when they had met in the kitchen that day.

“How did you know there was even a story here? Long enough ago to lie on your resume to get a job here a week ago, apparently. Only a handful of people knew. How did you know?” he asked. When she was in his closet, she’d been a reporter—an unethical one.

She backed away from him. “I have to leave.”

“No way, lady. Tell me how you know. Wait, what were you doing in that closet? Was that for a story? Was everything for a story?” He needed her to say it. Or, more importantly, to explain that it wasn’t for a story and that it had all been a mistake. There had to be an explanation for it, any explanation.

Straightening her back, she answered, “Yes. I mean, no. I was trying to get a story, but I failed. And got fired for it.”

She had admitted that she had only wanted a story. All of this had been for a story. He had fallen for her, but she was there for a story and nothing more. He had been a fool.